Ed J Taylor
I know I speak for many when I say I am profoundly sad at the loss of Bill Foley. The man has been a big part of my life for the last 25 years. He was a cousin, Uncle, and a Father-like mentor. He always assured me that we were family and gave me insight on relatives who passed before. I knew I was family every time I ever saw him, regardless of the locale, he let me know. I'm going to miss talking to him almost every day. It won’t be the same not being able to see that black Accord in the parking lot. We’ll all miss talking sports with him, although he ruined trivia because he would whip that phone out and call upon Siri. I'm going to miss him bragging about his daughters and his Grandchildren. I’m going to miss how excited he would get when my kids made achievements. Bill was a tremendous Husband, Father, Grandfather and provider. I always admired that.
When I lost my father I pondered what hurt me more, missing the man because of what he meant to me or for what I meant to him. When I lost Bill I, I felt exactly the same way because I know I lost somebody who loved me and definitely had my back.
Bill was a fixture at the 25 Club for years. He served as an Officer for decades and facilitated the perpetuation of that club. He was also a renaissance man who served as a conduit of sorts between the generation gaps. Recently, there has been an influx of younger members and Bill befriended them as if they were from his own age group, and in turn, the new guys loved him. Also, if he didn’t like you, you knew it. He was consistent.
I've often regretted moving to Maple Shade due to the property values skyrocketing in Philly since I moved. That eroded over the years when I see how great my kids turned out here but it occurred to me that I am really happy that I moved to Maple Shade because it afforded me the opportunity to have a much closer relationship with Bill than I would have had if I had moved elsewhere. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I'm going to miss his texts to me that said "Church"? Which was code for "come to the club I have a beer for you." Yes. I’ll miss that. Love you Bill.
